A "alert" from the Associated Press:

"Obama delaying Asia trip from March 18 to March 21 to work on health care."

The president's trip will take him to Indonesia and Australia. We'll update this news as the story develops.

Update at 9:10 a.m. ET. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs just "tweeted" that:

"The President will delay leaving for Indonesia and Australia - will now leave Sunday - the First Lady and the girls will not be on the trip."

Sunday must mean March 21.

This news is not exactly a surprise. As The New York Times' The Caucus blog wrote yesterday, "with President Obama's health care bill hanging in the balance, the White House is facing intensifying questions about whether Mr. Obama should take his planned trip to Indonesia and Australia next week."

Update at 10:45 a.m. ET. NPR's Don Gonyea reports that the White House has been hoping Congress would vote on health care overhaul legislation by March 18:

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